comments (14)

I agree mostly, but if you step back you will see we are not all that different, well it feels like it when so many cars are going the same way as me

vz-nostalgia: Haha. Have you ever stood on the top of the Empire State Building, Nig? You look down and see yellow rivers (dots of taxi cabs) streaming on the bottom of the urban street canyons. That makes you think.

Great shot. It offers an interesting perspective on nature. Not at all the peace and quiet the poets would have us believe is out there. My only gripe is that the shadows are a little too heavy.

vz-nostalgia: Well, maybe it's not all the peace and quiet we see in nature that the poets sing to us (me being one of them, ), Martin, but there is a reason behind each act of violence in nature, either a self-defense or a survival, which is such a contrast to us humans.

Makes me think about some sequences in a fine movie named "Baraka" where the time-lapse photography of New York traffic suggests the exact opposite of your observation of humankind.

Your image, though, contains great beauty, VZ.

vz-nostalgia: "Baraka" is one of my favorite movies, Ray. Honestly, I see no contradiction between Ron Fricke's take on this and my thoughts in a global scale of things.
I did observe the Manhattan traffic from the top of one of the skyscrappers. An absolutely mesmerizing experience.

Lovely shot Viktor. I agree with you that ants are fascinating - they act instinctively for the common cause and probably work themselves to death very quickly too

vz-nostalgia: I bet they have a different concept of death, Chris. I'm sure to die from overworking is the highest honor in the ants world.

Philine

Germany

6 Jun 2008, 12:48

"the logic and a sense of purpose in what they do"- yes, that is absolutely right, often I have watched ant-hills and detected a kind of order under the animals always running and carring wooden sticks..along their streets...-fascinating indeed!
The laws and orders of the human beings often lead/have led to chaos, error and terror- see the (German and others) history and politics...- "logic and sense of purpose..." can be ambivalent- diabolic and human...The ants would never be malignant and ugly if you don't disturb them, but we 'human' beings...- "so opposite from" them!

vz-nostalgia: King Solomon once wrote (or said): "Go to the ant, consider its ways and be wise".
Yep, Ms. Philine. Humans have the biggest brain-to-body ratio in the animal kingdom, but that doesn't stop them to move slowly but surely to self-destruction through overpopulation and destroying the environment. Go figure.

vz-nostalgia: Sorry, can't help you, man. I'm on the other side of the ocean.

Kelly Henry

United States

6 Jun 2008, 15:23

You use to ask for one word comments, and the first word that hit me today was Dangerous. I amlmost see skin instead of a leaf in the photo and the photo feels intense.

vz-nostalgia: I was a couple of centimeters from them, Ms. Kelly. I felt no danger. What can a little ant do to big Kelly? The ants are only dangerous, when there are a lot of them. And that the lesson we should learn. We are the power to be reckoned with only when we are together.

Ants should be totally total respected for their sociabilty and organisational skills and in the way they work for their colony. We have lots learn and to take on board from them ... er isn't that called socialism.
Maybe a bit more in focus would have suited me VZ ... but I'm sure it was your intention to produce it like this.

vz-nostalgia: Well, seems like socialism got quite a few bad stains and is a thing of past by now. As a person who experienced living in both systems, I can assure you, I'll be glad to bring a few things here from the past.
On the photograph, if you look at it a bit longer, you might notice a curved cross. One line is created by the leaf texture, the other one is by a focus line. That's one of the hidden composition tricks I like so much.

Thanks for noticing my work and making a comment, VZ. It enabled me to link to yours and some superb work of your own. I'll comment on a few, but this really caught my eye.
'Phase IV'?
This works really well, for me. I like the one ant on the in the top right quarter being more in focus, and all the others comming and going through the focussed zone.
The lines on the leaf become the tracks for the ants, and the whole image has a sense of menace, amplified by the b&w contrast.
An image that stands out from the norm. Nice!

vz-nostalgia: Welcome to Nostalgia, Rob.
I haven't seen "Phase IV". I guess I got to find it now. I'm pretty sure, give them a chance and the insects will take over the world in no time.

When I was a child I used to spend a lot of time watching the ants...it was kind of mesmerizing...I used to give them sugar and tiny pieces of ham, because I thought they had big families to nourish
As for your thought :I believe that "we" are becoming narrow minded beings... worried about our own navel and unable to think beyond the instant we're living in...
As for your picture: I do like these bugs performing a movement symphonie!
(God I talk too much... )

vz-nostalgia: First of all, I don't think you talk too much. Secondly, I like listening to what you say, Ms. L.
Third, a movement symphony sounds grandiose. It could make a fantastic title. If you don't mind, I'll borrow it for one of my future posts.